Presentazioni delle lezioni per l’Italia Master Workshop.
Developing a Plan for Uneven Bars
Be A Better Coach
Combination Tumbling
Yurchenko Vaulting- Go BIG
Presentazioni delle lezioni per l’Italia Master Workshop.
Developing a Plan for Uneven Bars
Be A Better Coach
Combination Tumbling
Yurchenko Vaulting- Go BIG
I am writing this the day before Thanksgiving 2022. I am sitting on my best with my “work stuff” in front of me and my families Christmas lists next to me. Even before I was a local business owner I believed in shopping local.
One of the great things about our area is the plethora of locally owned and operated businesses. I love walking in to a business and knowing the owner is working that day. The employees appear to take a little more pride in their work and seem to get to know the customers. I love walking into a shop, restaurant or cafe and although the employee may not know my name, they remember me and in some cases even how I take my coffee (Hot and Black. Pretty simple but in this day and age coffee orders can be pretty complicated).
I hosted a dinner party a few weeks ago and the group I was standing with were asking about a project I had just finished. I told them where I bought the hardware and materials and they asked why I paid more than if I had gone to one of the Big BOX hardware stores. I explained that in the end by shopping at a locally owned hardware store I was keeping the money in the community. I was helping to pay for their daughter’s soccer team and their son’s class trip.
It is the locally owned businesses sponsoring the soccer teams and making contributions to the schools program for the class trip. Many of the local business owners give TWICE. They make a contribution as a business and again as an individual.
By choosing local and independent businesses for your services, shopping, dining and other needs, you not only get real value and personal service, you’re helping:
The casual encounters you enjoy at neighborhood–scale businesses and the public spaces around them build relationships and community cohesiveness. (source 1, source 5) They’re the ultimate social networking sites!
Each dollar you spend at independent businesses returns 3 times more money (source 2) to our local economy than one spent at a chain — a benefit we all can bank on.
Independent businesses help give our community its distinct personality.
Independent, community-serving businesses are people-sized. They typically consume less land, carry more locally-made products, locate closer to residents and create less traffic and air pollution. (source 3)
More efficient land use and more central locations mean local businesses put less demand on our roads, sewers, and safety services. They also generate more tax revenue per sales dollar. The bottom line: a greater percentage of local independent businesses will help keep our taxes lower. (source 4)
A wide variety of independent businesses, each serving their customers’ tastes, creates greater overall choice for all of us.
Not only do independent businesses employ more people directly per dollar of revenue, they also are the customers of local printers, accountants, wholesalers, farms, attorneys, etc., expanding opportunities for local entrepreneurs.
Small businesses donate more than twice as much per sales dollar to local non-profits, events, and teams compared to big businesses. (source 5)
The multiplier effect noted above generates lasting impact on the prosperity of local residents. (source 6)
Studies show strong correlation between the percentage of small locally-owned firms and various indicators of personal and community health and vitality. (source 7)
Dr. Bill Sands has contributed this article on Peaking and Tapering. This is an article that EVERY SERIOUS GYMNASTICS COACH must read. Chere Hoffman adds her examples of putting this into practice at the end.
From INSIDE GYMNASTICS
How Do Athletes Qualify for Paris 2024?
By Anna Rose Johnson for Inside Gymnastics
The Olympic qualification procedures for artistic gymnastics are always evolving to fit the sport’s current needs, but it can make things confusing for fans who aren’t quite sure what is required of their favorite teams and athletes in order to qualify for the next Olympic Games. So today, let’s break down the paths to qualification ahead of Paris 2024—which start in Liverpool at the 2022 World Championships!
Wow, that’s a lot! It will be fascinating to see how the qualifications begin to unfold at this year’s Worlds. It’s hard to believe that we’re already moving onto the first installment of Olympic qualification. What are you most excited for as we launch into all the action in Liverpool?
An Open Letter on Injury for Coaches, Physicians, Therapists, Chiropractors, Nurses, and the Media
William A Sands, Ph.D., FACSM Sports Scientist – Retired
In recent years I have read, seen, and heard an under-informed castigation of gymnastics based on athletes training and competing “with an injury.” The hyperbolic nature of this phrase does not accurately portray the milieu of gymnastics injuries. The following opinions and information are based on more than 50 years of experience in gymnastics as an athlete, coach, and sports scientist.
First and foremost, no one wants to see gymnasts injured and suffering. Gymnastics has a high injury incidence and rate and is often referred to as the football of women’s sports.
The Importance of Context.
What is an injury? Among the more common definitions of injury, there is a damaged body part or body system resulting from either a single trauma (i.e., acute) or repetitive trauma (i.e., overuse). Injury severity is often characterized by a measure of the :me lost from training, such as one day, one week, one month, and so forth. The type of injury remediation can also be used to measure injury, such as whether surgery, physical therapy, self-limited movements, or other treatments are involved. Injury prevalence, a simple tallying of injuries, and injury rate (i.e., the number of injuries per training session or multiple training sessions), or the percentage of an athlete group who suffered from an injury are standard methods of characterizing the injuries.
What is a gymnastics injury? Gymnastics injuries involve all the concepts listed in the previous paragraph, but gymnastics injuries remain challenging to characterize and categorize. A helpful definition of a gymnastics injury is “any damaged body part that would interfere with training” (2-5). This broad definition helps capture the idea that most gymnastics injuries are not debilitating but can interfere with some skills. Pragmatically, gymnastics injuries are skill-specific (5). For example, the athlete may have an injury (i.e., pain) on an aerial walkover but not an aerial cartwheel. When possible, a coach should accompany the gymnast to clarify what is possible and desirable. A video on a laptop or tablet can be very helpful. Experience has shown that medical folks can over- and under-es:mate the amount of training stress an athlete’s injury can withstand. The days of relying on medical interventions without coaching input are gone, along with coaches assuming the role of physician and therapist. Each has an important role and should contribute to the rapid return of the athlete. Rich communication should be required between medical personnel, coach, athlete, and parent.
Why can’t the gymnast simply take a complete rest from training and allow the injury to heal fully? Of course, complete rest is an op:on, but such an act can be devastating to the athlete’s gymnastics. Gymnatics-specific physical fitness is sensitive to continued training. Unfortunately, a gymnast’s fitness can decline rapidly, especially when compared to the progress observed in teammates. Experience has shown that the inevitable comparisons between the rehabilitating athlete and her teammates can raise the injury to a “career-ender” because the gymnast feels she has fallen behind and cannot catch up. She is physically weaker than she remembers, and her teammates have probably learned a few new skills.
Thus, both physically and psychologically, continued training is important to the injured gymnast. Gymnastics is not alone with these problems; many sports report the same problems with losses of specific fitness and feelings of helplessness and abandonment.
If an athlete in other sports sprains an ankle, sports training and competitions usually cease until the injury heals. A sprained ankle in basketball, football, baseball, track and field, and so forth is a rather devastating injury. However, a sprained ankle does not always sideline a gymnast. Gymnasts can continue to train and sometimes compete with a sprained ankle. Of course, the gymnast can perform non-weight-bearing conditioning exercises like other sports, but she can also work on uneven bars over a foam pit with the ankle firmly braced and/or taped. When the gymnast exits or dismounts from the uneven bars, she can land on her seat or back in a soO foam pit area. Skilled athletic trainers may also apply appropriate taping strategies to protect the athlete while weight-bearing. The ubiquitous sprained ankle in most sports involves taping and bracing that may be invisible due to socks and pants while fully visible among gymnasts because they usually train and compete barefoot.
Unlike many sports, gymnasts must learn hundreds of skills that may or may not threaten an existing injury or even hurt when performed. Thus, intelligent skill selection and choreography can allow a gymnast to perform successfully without jeopardizing the injury by simply avoiding or substituting a painful skill with a non-painful skill.
The idea that a gymnast can train and compete with injuries does not avert the question of should the gymnast train and compete with injuries. For those who have never dedicated their lives to achieving a goal, such a passionate commitment may seem silly. However, many athletes in many sports whose lives are defined by their performance at a competitive event speak to the universal nobility of such commitment.
As the ancient Greeks understood, great athletes not only accept the ordeal of competition and the trial of strength inherent in it but also show us a connection between what we do each day and something that is larger than we are and lasts longer than we do. Bill Bradley p 107, (1)
References
Across the Floor Warm Up. All Exercises are done Forward and then Backward unless otherwise stated
FOR EXAMPLE
Running warm Up.
Video coming soon!
Across Floor Active Flexibility. everything one pass across floor
Conditioning (the numbers are suggestions unless otherwise noted)
Core
Hollow/ Press circuit
REPEAT the circuit!
Video coming soon!
In order to provide you with the MOST amount of information I will add links to other lectures and articles. Even if I am unable to have the time to answer all your questions there will still be answers below.
VAULT
Success in Vaulting requires the “skills” of an advanced tumbler as well as the “running speed” of a champion sprinter.
Like Beam, Vaulting also has an unforgiving nature. Vault involves one element and the gymnast has precious little, if any, time to make a correction.
So many times it comes down to the run.
run fast, hit the board, shut your eyes.
Goals pre-season.
Goals During season
A few of my favorite Yurchenko Vaulting Drills
Where to go from the handspring vault? (Notes from a lecture)
UNEVEN BARS
Bars is about repetition and combinations. (and repetition OF combinations)
It tends to be the most difficult event because of the strength necessary and that you can’t fake it.
Pre-season goals
Teach the dismount first! If they are comfortable with the END of their routine they will be able to concentrate on the skills leading up to it.
Like an airplane pilot performing complex aerial maneuvers, the gymnast should focus intermittently on fixed frames of reference
Drills for Giants (as I put this in I noticed that some of the YouTube links are bad and need updated. I will work on that.
Front Giants and Blind Changes
5 Things every Gymnast needs on Bars
TUMBLING
Tumbling is where it all begins (or ends). If they cannot do it on floor it is highly unlikely and probably dangerous for them to try it at other events. Most coaches would agree that a gymnasts competency in tumbling serves as the great separator between champions and would be champions.
Body Shaping Drills for Tumbling
Developmental Twisting Part 8 (this is the last of an 8 part series. The first 7 have links at the bottom)
BEAM
Beam skills MUST be mastered on the ground, then a line, low beam, medium beam, etc. The more steps you have in your progression the more sound the skill will be. The actor balancing ANYWHERE, let alone on a beam going into or out of a skill is about core strength. A gymnast must maintain the effective weight of the body directly over the base of support.
Drills for arms on Jumps and Leaps
Planning workouts during the season
STRENGTH
The end of September of 2022 brought the end of gymnastics at Woodward Camps. Having been mismanaged for quite some time it was no longer what it once was and what it could be. Guest blogger, TOM HAMBLIN, shares his thoughts and memories.
In 1970, Ed Isabel had a dream, a vision he would build a camp. Woodward Camp was born. He built it from the ground up with love. He put his blood, sweat, and tears into it. He built much of it with his bare hands. Woodward became a field of dreams for gymnastics. He built it and we came. It was built by the gymnastics and the Amish community. We were family.
Woodward is sacred grounds where memories were made, and dreams come true. Campers trained and enjoyed camp life. Campers that we all knew that came through those grounds have received college scholarships and even earning a World Champion title. Woodward was a diverse community where everyone learned gymnastics skills and enhanced our coaching skills. We came from all corners of the globe to share information and perfect our craft in an environment built on mutual respect. It was more than a playground or summer camp for us. It was FAMILY. Regardless of what level you were or who you were, you were part of that family. A family that believes in respect and integrity. Woodward’s heart was always open to you. You were part of Ed’s dreams and his family. His dream was your dream. We shared his dreams and his love of the sport of Gymnastics. The passion he had, we carried it forward.
I was a camper for two summers and the opportunity to learned from the best and to enjoy the camp atmosphere. Best money ever spent. Memories were made. Many may know about my story. When I was learning to polish up my double back, my hearing aid flew off into the foam pit. All the campers came to have a pit cleaning party till we found my hearing aid. Yes, we found it after two hours. Oh, things we found as we cleaned out the pit. Yikes.
My experience with Woodward adventure as a coach began in 1999. While I was doing some coaching at Woodward as a visiting coach I was asked to stay for the rest of the summer. I lived all summer for 8 years and continued till 2019. I grew from master staff to director of the cheer and T&T program. I took part on the team in the design and groundbreaking for the cheer/tumble gym in 2007. I will never forget the -9 below zero weather. After the photos were taken, we even stuck around doing gymnastics skills on the bulldozer! lol!
Its was heart breaking , to say the least, when Powdr bought Woodward in 2008 (if my memory served me right). Powdr ruined our family (If they know what family is). There’s was no respect showed on those sacred grounds. Their lies and lack of leadership killed it. Powdr’s manager showed up drunk, firing people who were the heart and soul of the camp and ended up crashing the golf cart into a lake. Camp was no longer family. It left me with an uncomfortable vibe that it wasn’t Woodward anymore. For the last few years, I barely knew anyone. My family were gone, my friends were gone. The new directors treated me like dirt and just could care less about me. I didn’t feel welcome anymore as I didn’t participate in their social events that I felt were unprofessional and unethical. The quality of the program was diminished. My gym friends were disrespected and thrown under the bus by the Cheer Directors. They acted with a sense of entitlement as if they were the best of the best and owned the campgrounds. It was like a cold war, Cheer vs Gymnastics. Little did they (Powdr) know anything about gymnastics, they were desperate to find quality staff after they fired so many with little reasoning or notice. They became desperate enough to hire Aly Raisman as the Gymnastics Program Designer (Whatever the heck that supposed the mean!). They used her has a marketing tool that was a complete scam. They were desperate enough that they hired a staff who was suspended from USA Gymnastics. They just didn’t have a clue.
The gymnastics and cheer program is no longer being offered at all Woodward locations. Powdr announced, “Gymnastics is one sport where we have found it is not possible to have consistent sport leadership” REALLY?!?!?!? Leadership starts at the top! Powdr never cared for our sport, our culture, or the language we speak. If they had respect, they would have approached the acquisition with an open mind and learned WHAT, HOW and WHY we do things. I do not know if gymnastics was ever a part of their vision. Their mishandling of the program(s) led to the demise.
Woodward is no longer the field of dreams. Ed’s legacy and passion are gone. Dreams have been shattered and affected by thousands of kids. The gymnastics community is saddened by their ignorance and lack of integrity of their leadership to protect Woodward’s culture, family, diversity, and history.
To my real Woodward family,
Thank you for letting me be part of your family. I’ll miss everyone and hope to get together soon.
Tom
Share your best Woodward memories with GYM MOMENTUM as well as TOM on Facebook, Twitter, @gym_momentum, and Instagram
Training Guidelines for youth to elite.
6-8 Years Old
10-12 hours per week
General
Multilateral development of skills and flexibility. Discipline for form and execution through the use of compulsory elements. NOW IS THE TIME TO LEARN EXCELLENT BASICS
GET THEM TO LOVE THE SPORT
Conditioning
General strength development of working all joints. Lay base for future. Work to Balance muscle groups and build for body shape. Start with static shapes then move to moving through positions.
Shapes
Gymnastics movements
Keep it fun. Make it a game.
Flexibility
Develop maximum range of all joints through static exercises. NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE THE BIGGEST INCREASE IN FLEXIBILITY.
VAULT
Develop steady accelerating run.
Develop an excellent handspring to stacked mats (with or without table)
Run must accelerate in run up for handspring, Correct board position and arm swing, Maintain straight body throughout
Begin working run up for round off entry vaults
DRILLS
Straight jump up to landing mats (Front and Back)
Front handspring on floor, rebound. Back Handspring on floor or uphill.
Handstand block off board to 40 cm, fall to back
Round off back handspring up wedge mat
Round off onto carpet square, back handspring over panel mat
Uneven Bars
Develop Basic Swings including Glide swing and baskets.
Skills to work
kip and back uprise
front and back hip circles (front hip circles should be done in both grips)
Toe circles
double leg jam
cast handstands
flyaways (front and back)
single rail giants
handstands on floor and on floor bar
back extension rolls on floor.
Drills
Planche Leans
Swinging on P.bars and rings.
Press Handstands
Bounce Handstands
Handstand leans front and back. Handstand fall front and back.
Come up with a Base routine then add to it.
Bar Routine | Single Rail Routine | Strap Bar Routine |
3 correct swings | 2 or 3 swings | 3 front / back taps wings |
Back Uprise | 1/2 turn to Mixed grip | Back uprise OR Kip Cast |
Back Hip Circle | Swing to overgrip | Straight Body Back Hip Circle |
Front Hip Circle | Single leg jam | Undershoot |
3/4 giant | Front stride circle | Tap swing to toe circle around bar. |
Undershoot | Leg cut OR turn | Tap Swing for fly away. |
3 swing to fly away | Cast to Back Hip Circle | |
Undershoot | ||
3 swing to fly away. |
Skills you want by 8 years old.
Kip Cast
Fly Away front and back
Basic Clear hip circle
Front hip circle and/ or stride circle (under grip)
Spotted toe circle.
BEAM
Walking (front, back, side)
Basic Jumps
Basic Turns
Posture
Arabesque
Handstands
Cartwheel
Forward and Backward rolls AND SHOULDER ROLLS
Bridge kickovers and walkovers
Handstand step in and lunge
Jumping UP to raise surface (block). Jump and landing
FLOOR
Handstands
Rolls in and out of handstands (front and back)
Step kicks
Front and Back limbers
Cartwheel and Walkovers step IN as well as lunge finish
Front and back handsprings from stand
Front flip flop (bounder)
Round off
Standing tucks
DANCE
General Basics. Positions of arms, feet, etc. Leaps. Working to different music.
Tumbling off balance.
TRAMP
Shaping and awareness drills
Front and Back handsprings
Front and back tucks and pikes (done correctly)
Stomach and Back drop.
Kaboom bounce.
Swivel hips. Jumping with 1/4 turns for twisting
Training Guideline 8-10 Year Old
GENERAL
Continue multi-lateral development. Help gymnast be as well rounded as possible. During this stage most will decide they mentally want to make the commitment toward a higher level
As they get closer to 10 yrs I begin to explain mechanics. What makes the body work. I want constructive play. It should still have an element of fun
12-16 hours per week
You must begin giving the gymnast some control of their gymnastics.
Begin doing mental rehearsal of routines and skills.
CONDITIONING
Specific exercises (for intermediate skills). Harder calisthenics exercises.
Test for strengths and weaknesses.
Light to Medium bounding exercises.
Periodization not a major concern.
TEST strength regularly
Once a gymnast can perform a set of exercises un assisted. Add resistance, increased form, or speed. BUT NOT ALL at same time. WHAT IS YOUR GOAL?
For example.
Straight body push up.
Step one- keeping back straight through out, set of 10.
Step two- added resistance through weight or elastic bands. Continue until straight back throughout set of 10
Step three- Remove weight for set of 10 timed. Straight back throughout.
Example 2
Over Grip (OG) Pull up 5 x Under Grip (UG) Pull up 5 x
Step one OG pull up switch grip UG pull up until 6x (3,3)
Step two OG pull up, pirouette to UG pull up, pirouette OG pull up…
Step three with added weight OG pull up 5 x, UG pull up 5x
Begin incorporating speed drills into conditioning.
FLEXIBILITY
Static as well as Active. NOT JUST sit in split.
Kick and HOLD. Dynamic – medium speed. Work to balance L and R side
Test flexibility
VAULT
Keep working Increased power and speed. Get serious on Round off entry vaults. Learn a flipping vault. Lots of tramp vault to increase awareness
Using a board, front layout onto 50 cm
round off onto board Back layout up to stacked mats 1 M.
run, Tsukahara (timer) onto a surface set 110-125 cm, land on feet
run, round off back hand spring from board onto 1 M mat
from a handstand on to a 50 cm mat, snap down onto board, perform a back handspring onto a mat.
BARS
Kip cast handstand 3x in a row.
Accelerating front and back giants between bars (both directions). Invert Grip Giants. Consecutive clear hips in a row. Late toe on circle, Toe on Handstand. Front fly away, back fly away and toe front.
Release preparation.
Consecutive swing ½ turns.
Lots of pirouettes on floor bars (example kick to handstand on floor bar, 1/2 pirouette to handstand)
Floor Back and front extension roll pirouettes.
Routine | Single Rail Routine | Strap Bar Routine |
3 Kip Cast Handstand. | Kip Cast Handstand | Tap Swing to hight start |
3 inbar skills (2 different) | In Bar skill | Toe on or Stalder |
Toe Circle Around Bar | Giant 1/2, giant 1/2 | 2 or 3 front giant |
Kip Cast Handstand | front giant, Front giant 1/2 | Clear Hip |
3 Giants (bonus if giant each grip) | 3 giant | 2 or 3 back giants |
Fly Away | Open double salto | Tap for fly away |
Beam
Series of 3 back hand springs.
Round off BHS.
Standing back tuck.
Tumble into dismount.
Variety of leaps and turns. Aerials (front and side)
Mount w/ flight.
Floor
Basic tumbling every day.
– Forward backward rolls to handstand
– Handstand pirouettes
– Cartwheels, aerials
– Rows of front and back handsprings
Work Twisting skills front and back.
Stack mat drills for doubles 1-1.5 M high.
Turn doubles when ready. Basic tumbling every day.
DANCE
General 50% Specific 50%.
TRAMP
Twisting front and back.
Cruises and Cruise with twist.
Cradle
CODY
Kaboom Back with twist
Kaboom Front
Double backs (tuck, pike and layout) Double fronts.
Double front
Work drills for all events.
Flips in a row. Front and back.
TRAINING GUIDELINES 10-12 YEAR OLD
GENERAL
Training and skill development as more specific to the INDIVIDUAL
Gymnast and Coach need to begin to work as partners
2 x per day workouts
16- 26 hours per week
Morning Training
Endurance and Strength
Beam and Bar Basics
One leg event.
Afternoon Training
General warm up.
Basic Acro
Events.
Short Conditioning.
CONDITIONING
More periodization.
Harder calisthenics and slightly resistance.
Train for tested weakness.
Increased Injury prevention and conditioning for future skills. Do plyometrics and bounding at event as drill. Be sports specific
More use of weights.
FLEXIBILITY
Dynamic/active stretch prior to workout. Static for increased flexibility and ROM post work out.
VAULT
Should be able to compete flipping vault.
Further development of second family.
Vault | Preparation | Mini tramp or pit |
Flipping vault to 40 cm (Example- open tuck yurchenko) | Prep for vault to 40 cm higher than table | Increased body shape (Example Layout yurchenko) |
Hand spring front pike | ||
BARS
A gymnast is going to need 3 major releases moves. Low to High, High to Low and Same bar. During this training period they should have 2 of the 3 Complete release.
Increase dismount difficulty.
Should have 2 in bar skills.
Should have 1/2 pirouette to front or invert giants as well as Should have 1/1 pirouette
Refine basics by adding them together.
Prep for original move or eye catcher. Start working 2nd release.
Routine | Single Rail Routine | Strap Bar |
Kip 1/2 pirouette | Swing to High start | High start |
2 Inbar skill different | Giant 1/2, giant 1/2 (over) | Toe hand |
Transition to high bar | Front giant 1/2 front giant 1/2 (over) | Back Stalder (pike or straddle) |
Kip Cast Handstand | Giant | Back Stalder (pike or straddle) |
Inbar skill | Inbar | Front giants |
Giant 1/2 | Inbar (different) | Front stalder (pike or straddle) |
Front giant 1/2 | Giant | Front stalder (pike or straddle) |
giant | Dismount. | Giants |
Flyaway | Flyaway swing. |
BEAM
Compete one major series.
High level dismount.
Work unique skill.
Lay groundwork for next major pass.
Work and add harder dance parts when ready.
DANCE
General 1/3. Specific 2/3
FLOOR
Continue with good basics tumbling and dance daily.
Compete double flipping pass
Compete C+ twisting pass
Ground work for unique pass.
Double layout and twisting lead up.
TRAMP
Twisting doubles front and back
Triple twist.
Double layout
Multiple salto pass on Tumble track or air floor
Stay one step ahead of floor and vault.
Daily drills for all events.
Kaboom with flipping and twist.
Cody with twist
Back drop front with twist
TRAINING GUIDE 12-14
GENERAL
Much more specialized training.
Most of the major skills will be learned and competed during these years.
Gain national and international exposure. Continue basics every day.
30 + hours per week
CONDITIONING
Continue periodization. Exercises much more specific to skills and individual. Test regularly (weekly) Higher intensity, lower volume. Much conditioning will be individualized.
FLEXIBILITY
Strengthen maximum range actively and dynamically. Maintain balance. By working flexibility too much at this time you will decrease strength and power.
VAULT
As vaults become ready to compete. Continue to work and refine everything prior to table. Run, hurdle, etc. Tramp on light or off days. Should have 2 vaults.
Vault | Preparation | Mini tramp/ Pit |
Solid competitive Vault. (Example- Yurchenko full twist) | Yurchenko layout to 1 meter mat | Yurchenko 1.5 or double full |
2nd Vault with possible lower SV (HS front tuck) | Yurchenko full twist to 50 cm | HS front pike 1/2 |
Chen. |
BARS
Consecutive Basics
Add second major release. Add unique skill. Increase dismount.
Routine | Single Rail Routine | Strap Bar |
Kip 1/2 pirouette | Swing to High start | High start |
2 Inbar skill different (one with pirouette) | Giant 1/2, giant 1/2 (over) | 2 Toe hand |
Transition to high bar | Front giant 1/2 front giant 1/2 (over) | 2 Back Stalder (pike or straddle) |
Kip Cast Handstand | Giant | 2 Back Stalder (pike or straddle) |
Inbar skill | Inbar release | Front giants |
Giant 1/2 | Inbar (different) | 2 Front stalder (pike or straddle) |
Front giant 1/1 | Giant | 2 Front stalder (pike or straddle) |
Front giant 1/2 | ||
giant | Dismount. Minimum of double layout | Giants |
Flyaway | Flyaway swing. |
BEAM
Basic complex every day.
Add Second major series or skill.
2 skills into dismount
Add unique skill.
Increase dismount etc.
FLOOR
Continue to work slow and fast basics.
As skills become ready, put into Routines.
Should have 5 solid passes to compete 4
DANCE
General Dance as a warm up every day. Do alone 1 or 2 times a week. Much more specific work done at events.
TRAMP
Continue work on skills learned as well as future skills to keep motivated.
TRAINING GUIDELINES 14+
GENERAL
High level competition phase.
Most work toward preparing for and competing in Major competitions
At this age you will encounter a period of 12-24 months where you will need to reduce training hours. Each girl will generally be different.
30 – 35 hours is the max. The gymnast needs to take more control.
CONDITIONING
Major emphasis on MAX power and strength. Much higher intensity lower volume. Use periodization or concentrated strength phases. MOST SPECIFIC
Strength and plyometrics in different stages pre season.
Flexibility
Maintenance
VAULT
ONE very strong vault.
ONLY if they have a possibility as a vault finalist work second vault.
BARS
Daily Basics in a separate workout
Refine routines for high level meets.
Stimulate with new skills.
Keep current and looking for trends.
BEAM
Daily Basics in a separate workout
Refine routines for high level meets.
Stimulate with new skills.
Keep current and looking for trends.
FLOOR
Daily basics, slow and fast.
Refine routines for high level meets.
Stimulate with new skills.
Keep current and looking for trends.
DANCE
General Dance as a warm up every day. Do alone 1 or 2 times a week. Much more specific work done at events
Last week I had a very engaging conversation with Dr. Bill Sands. We were talking about the future of gymnastics in the USA. How did we get here and how do we move forward. (What Happened to Gymnastics) Toward the end of the conversation he mentioned the 1985 study by Benjamin Bloom on Developing talent in young people. I have always believe that to be a good coach you need to give the information in a way the child understands it. It doesn’t matter if you are speaking to a 10 year old Level 10 or a 10 year old level 5. What is important is that you remember you are speaking to a 10 year old. There are different stages of learning and development that every child and athlete go through. If we know and understand these stages it makes our job easier. We can deliver the information in a way that it is best received at that time.
Since our conversation I have gone down a bit of a rabbit hole searching out more information.
A new volume, The Psychology of High Performance: Developing Human Potential into Domain-Specific Talent, edited by Rena F. Subotnik, Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, and Frank C. Worrell, addresses that question by examining outstanding performance across five different domains: academic disciplines (mathematics and psychology), arts production (culinary arts and drawing/painting), arts performance (dance and acting), professions (medicine, software engineering, and professional teams), and sport (golf and team sports).
The book was, in part, inspired by a famous study by Benjamin Bloom and colleagues in 1985, which retrospectively examined the trajectories of world-class athletes, artists, scholars and professionals. That work, the authors write, “remains a valid and elegant reporting of the developmental stages of instruction experienced by his study participants. What was missing … is an explicit description of psychosocial dimensions of eminent achievement.”
The study of expertise has expanded in recent years to examine similarities and differences across multiple domains (see the Journal of Expertise), and this edited volume brings together scholars across various disciplines. Rena, Paula, and Frank kindly responded to three questions regarding their new book.
Ironically, one of the major things that we have learned since Bloom’s (1985) study is how much he got correct. The importance of looking at talent within domains; providing the right resources both within and outside of school; the importance of the family, especially in the earliest years; the right teachers and mentors at particular stages on the developmental trajectory in a domain; and a community of learners are still key factors in the advancement of high performance.
Since 1985, we have since learned that psychosocial skills and insider knowledge interact with the ability to enhance the likelihood of progression to the next level of talent development, and we do have some ideas about which psychosocial skills matter broadly across domains.
We still need to identify psychosocial skills unique to domains and who is best placed to convey these skills and knowledge. Also, we have little to go on regarding developmental benchmarks for talent development, largely because we assume that present performance is the best predictor of future performance—but it may be that present performance is not the sole predictor. A better predictor may be the capacity to develop and maintain critical psychosocial skills. For example, what happens to a talented individual who loses passion for the domain, stops practicing intensely, or is unable to focus?
What are the commonalities for talent development when considering multiple domains?
All domains change over time in response to societal demands. For example, medicine has needed to increase sub-specialization and pay more attention to training protocols for interacting and communicating with patients. Aesthetics within fields of performance also change and as a result, preparation changes (witness that in the education of artists, the basic skill of drawing has become optional in the curriculum and preference is given to learning what you need to know to do the art you want to do).
Commonalities across talent development domains can be divided into several categories. The first is the personal category. In addition to domain-specific ability and creativity, passion, persistence in the face of failure or setbacks, and engaging in the work of the discipline or field over time are useful across domains.
The second category is environmental. Social, emotional, and financial support are critical. Even in domains where the tools or equipment that is required is relatively inexpensive, the resource of time is key, and time is dependent on a certain amount of fiscal resources.
The third factor is chance, which involves both the personal and environmental. The individual developing talent needs to be on the lookout for opportunities and ready and willing to take up opportunities as they arise. There are a lot of talented individuals aiming for the top and typically there are more talented individuals than there are opportunities.
It is important to note that domains differ in important ways as well. For example, talent trajectories begin, peak, and end at different times. And within domains, there are early and late specialization fields, those that focus more on teamwork and others that are more individual, those that expect large commitments to education and those that do not, and those that require a great deal of disciplined or deliberate practice and those that require less.
The next steps for the field will be to categorize these similarities and differences based on research and the best practices presented in this book and translate this information into a testable model.
Sports provides several key lessons.
First, the domain of sport relies more on sport-specific criteria than do academic fields. They use actual performance as a selection tool. Individuals are asked to play the sport, often with other equally talented athletes who are trying out, and those who perform best are selected. Teachers (coaches) do the selection with pretty good accuracy.
Second is the importance of ongoing disciplined practice. We use the term disciplined rather than deliberate practice because the nature of the “practice” that one needs to engage in to succeed in physics or acting may be very different than the deliberate practice required in sport, but it is still practice in the discipline.
Sport has long recognized the importance of psychosocial skills like coping with performance anxiety—particularly at the elite levels of competition. Sports take place in front of audiences where one has supporters and individuals who are not rooting for you and you have got to learn to be able to “shut out” distractions and get the job done. Similarly, games are played almost weekly or even more frequently, and athletes have got to put their best selves on the field or court on every occasion.
Thus, an athlete is trained to “pick oneself up” after losses, understand the lessons the loss provides, and move forward to try to win the next game. Sports psychologists are integrated into this important component of training. We leave the development of these skills to chance for academically talented individuals, but we could place more of a focus on developing them.
Sport also seems to have many different avenues for gaining experience in the early years—through school teams, park district activities, club sports, and so on. These opportunities are open to all children and get more selective as they progress. In other words, “on ramps” are readily available. Parents know and accept the idea of starting young children with exposure and progressing to increasingly more selective and competitive opportunities. We do not have such “on ramps” in academics and parents do not have the same knowledge or acceptance of the idea.
However, we argue that many of the advantages of sport come with it being a performance domain, and other performance domains such as elite music performance also offer useful lessons for academic domains. As in sport, in developing elite musical talent, there are explicit criteria for selection based on performance, and diminished reliance on abstract tests.
Teachers are often practicing professionals and provide individualized instruction – much of the talent development work is conducted one-on-one. Teacher selection is also key and sometimes more important than the reputation of the music institution. And beyond one-on-one lessons, there are master classes sharing instruction with all the students of one teacher. Additionally, for a student to progress, he or she needs to pass muster every year in front of the whole department.
Finally, there are “Reality 101” classes requiring students to learn how to behave in professional environments, how to handle stress, how to get an agent, and other practical skills required to facilitate success. These skills would also be useful in academic domains and universities are now beginning to have classes on succeeding in academia or translating your doctoral degree into success outside the academy.